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Elk season; 1 month out!!

Ya, who all got to go? Where? And what learning points would you share. I really need to go out of state hunting!
 
Zero One Actual said:
Ongoing.
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The majority of elk hunting out west looks exactly like this here.no less than 7 miles à day.but 1 thing that this year did solidifie in My hard head ...is this ...1 you dont always need to cover ground if you have already done your scouting..2 you should be more patient with good spots .my first bull was harvested near à famous for the area tree stand that à logger made 30 years ago over à wallow with a salted stump that has been eaten into the ground by elk years ago.has a logging chain welded around a tree for a steal trail cam box....almost harvested another bull there and so did my friend.for years i knew my buddie didnt need to cover as much ground as he does cuz he is going to come back to that spot any ways...the wise old timer who made the stand did it for a reason.its right on the inside of à cresant shaped mountain where the inside corner drops off cliffs into a steep canyon with steep terain above it.so it is the shortest and main rout between the 2 far mountain saddles.
 
South central Co, for outfitted horseback camp on public. Shot opportunity first evening & I blew it. My takeaway was we were so excited to hunt during the rut with guns ( ML) I downplayed this added difficulty of open sights at longer ranges & not having enough game time experience with that weapon setup ( was amazing at the range & gave me false confidence). We were in elk multiple times but I think I drop camp would’ve been similar results ( I’d draw archery or first rifle when I go back) I don’t really enjoy the hand holding that’s part of a guided hunt. Another takeaway was we were told to drive & under no circumstances fly. After reading up on Rokslide & talking to my guide I could’ve saved myself 4 vacation days & a mean cross country road trip……. Plan to go again & do it a bit differently btw there’s no training or realistic prep for altitude…. Just gotta roll with it!
 
1000002139.jpgthe lower left side drops of cliffs in between .they come through that saddle across the way and are forced to hook around the lower right side bench past the wallow.there is a bedding area below the wallow on a steep finger ridge where they can see to all sides above the cliffs.its the shortest rout to the saddle where i took the picture from .i found a similar spot that i had scouted out and found on the coast range mountains where i got this years bull on an inside bench by à wallow just above a bedding knob they where headed to.i know i could prodadly just hunt theses 2 spots with patiance but what fun would that be.
 
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Bigterp said:
I don’t really enjoy the hand holding that’s part of a guided hunt. Another takeaway was we were told to drive & under no circumstances fly. After reading up on Rokslide & talking to my guide I could’ve saved myself 4 vacation days & a mean cross country road trip…….
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Can you elaborate on this? Is the hand holding more than spotting and or putting you on animals? Planning to purchase a guided hunt at the GAOS this year.

Why drive instead of fly?

Your comment about vacation days seems to imply flying is smarter?

TIA
 
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GreginPA said:
Can you elaborate on this? Is the hand holding more than spotting and or putting you on animals? Planning to purchase a guided hunt at the GAOS this year.

Why drive instead of fly?

Your comment about vacation days seems to imply flying is smarter?

TIA
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I had a little different experience than @Bigterp. We had three guys in our group. We took one truck and drove straight through out and back. One guy sleeping in the back and two guys up front. It's not something I would want to do often but, isn't bad once a year. I know @Bigterp went out with only one other guy, that would make the drive a lot tougher.

I went out 20 years ago in rifle season with a big group and we had 3 guys in each truck and every truck had a pick up camper. That made it even more comfortable.
 
GreginPA said:
Can you elaborate on this? Is the hand holding more than spotting and or putting you on animals? Planning to purchase a guided hunt at the GAOS this year.

Why drive instead of fly?

Your comment about vacation days seems to imply flying is smarter?

TIA
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Im guessing he could have held à beer in that hand.
 
I've driven and flown. Both suck, the price to pay for trying to hunt 2,000 miles away I suppose.

Flying saves a couple vacation days, but the logistics really suck. You have to make some really tough gear choices. It makes camping basically impossible as an option imo, basically need to be staying in a lodge for it to even be an option. You really can't practically fly with that much gear. If you get an elk down, getting it home is going to be spendy.

Driving takes forever, but you can take all your stuff and bring meat and antlers back.

I love elk hunting but I haven't been in 6 years, and I'm not really sure when I'll go again. I've done it, I got the t-shirt, and the Euro mount, but I said to myself I'm not doing it again until I can dedicate 2-3 weeks to doing it right. Between work and family, I can't do that right now. I got to the place with cost and hassle, it's not worth it to me with 7-10 days available. If I can get out there most of September, absolutely.
 
Just out of curiosity or not understanding what type of hunting you are doing, how much gear are you taking?

Meaning, are you setting up a full spike camp with stoves and cots etc, or just you, whatever hunting tool (rifle, bow, etc) and a pack of gear? If setting up a full camp, then driving is the only option obviously.

For example. When I go, it's one rifle or bow case and one rolling duffle bag with everything else. Usually I'll ship all my food prior to a friends address or a hotel that I coordinate with to save on weight and space when flying.

The attached photo is everything I bring for seven days. Any more and I have to bump up pack size due to food.
 

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Zero One Actual said:
Just out of curiosity or not understanding what type of hunting you are doing, how much gear are you taking?

Meaning, are you setting up a full spike camp with stoves and cots etc, or just you, whatever hunting tool (rifle, bow, etc) and a pack of gear? If setting up a full camp, then driving is the only option obviously.

For example. When I go, it's one rifle or bow case and one rolling duffle bag with everything else. Usually I'll ship all my food prior to a friends address or a hotel that I coordinate with to save on weight and space when flying.

The attached photo is everything I bring for seven days. Any more and I have to bump up pack size due to food.
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No photo yet, interesting though
 
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